Hinata's First Date
by Mendori-chan
Summary: In order to make things perfect, it was Kiba's idea to follow Hinata and Naruto on their date. Shino was, unfortunately, dragged by the dog-lover as well. But it seems that this event made both teammates realize how important a Hinata was in their lives.


Hinata's First Date

In order to make things perfect, it was Kiba's idea to follow Hinata and Naruto on their date. Shino was, unfortunately, dragged (coughblackmailedcough) by the dog-lover as well. But it seems that this event made both teammates realize how important a Hyuuga Hinata was in their lives.

_The dreams that I have yearned for collapses before me. Though I knew everything from alpha and omega, I still allowed myself to fail when I could have evaded. Is this what they call love?_

_If not, then it confuses me so. Love is a virus-- a pest that feeds on our emotions within us. It eats us alive while we are unaware that it is slowly devouring our souls. _

_Or perhaps it is the coldness of the night-- a touch so deadly that it sneaks in our homes while we are in slumber. It freezes our senses until we become numb and feeds on our sorrow. _

_Love is, obviously as I have stated it to be, something beyond those sweet smiles, fairy tales and butterflies. The reality of love is..._

_It's stupid. Absurd. A monstrosity._

_No, I was not deprived of love. As I reached a certain age, I realized that if we cared too deeply, nothing would come back anyway. Absolutely nothing. Even the greatest of efforts will not be realized... especially when..._

His fists clenched, and he noticed this immediately.

"Oi," Inuzuka Kiba spoke suddenly, breaking the silence and his thoughts as well.

He turned to him with hints of annoyance in his eyes. But his companion wouldn't notice them; they were concealed behind a pair of tinted lenses.

"Five more minutes," he continued as a smirk slowly played on his lips. "For the mean time, don't murder yourself with thoughts. Wait for five minutes... at least, do it for _her_." The dog lover's eyes journeyed across the lobby where a young woman was sitting on one of the benches.

His eyes followed, allowing him to see their female teammate anxiously wait as she played with her fingers uncertainly. Aburame Shino sighed. How Kiba managed to convince him to come along was a mystery. But the fact is, he was already with him as they crouched stealthily behind the crowd, under an oversized umbrella, watching Hyuuga Hinata's every move.

And so, a minute flew by... then two... then three.

He wasn't the kind of person who would sit and wait to watch her meet up with her first date. It was stupid. Why? Because it was Kiba's idea.

"I'm starting to feel like an idiot whenever I'm beside you." Shino's usually unspoken voice played in an irritated manner. He recalled on how his idiotic teammate made him agree, pay for their fare and even hang around with him.

It was a sunny morning for Shino... at least, before Kiba started annoying him. The latter threatened to destroy every bug he would come across and, for the good of all bugs on earth, Shino was left with no choice. At first, he thought it would be quite interesting to see how Hinata-san would handle her very first date with, well, Uzumaki Naruto. It was set a long time ago, and the Kyuubi agreed since he thought she'd be a very interesting person to get to know better.

Much to both of Hinata's teammates' ironic dismay, she agreed to participate to walk into the dating world. Both of them wanted to see her happy, that's all. Although they promised to make her first date a success, it didn't REALLY mean they would follow her... would it?

Ah, but being the stubborn, I-can't-think-of-anything-else-but-worry-about-you Kiba, his infamous ways of convincing people grew even more. Unfortunately for dear Aburame Shino, he fell for his stupid antics and agreed to come along.

As of now, the bug manipulator felt nothing but regret. He was sitting with Kiba, perhaps the least person anyone would expect to see him with in a mall, crouching behind a crowd of people and observing a teammate twenty meters away.

"Idiot or not, you're here anyway." Kiba had hissed a reply after looking around the premises for any sign of a bunch of yellow hair.

Shino exhaled sharply. "I'm here because I don't want you to trample on insects."

"Everyone does it. Now stop being the bug freak that you are for one second and stay alert!"

He frowned. "I won't sit here, knowing that you will still go on murdering bugs."

Kiba turned to him slowly, his left eye twitching in irritation. "Pick a fight with me later, will you? This is an important matter for us--"

"For Hinata-san," Shino corrected him. His eyes returned to the waiting shinobi, who was now as anxious as ever. "This is _her_ date. And until she meets up with Naruto, everything until the end of their outing will be none of our business." He was straightforward and frank, but Kiba found it too hard to even nod when he knew Shino was telling the truth.

Damn, he was right. But still, Kiba didn't want to backout now!

"After the movie then," he insisted, grinning.

"This is an invasion of privacy."

"Before they reach the ramen shop."

"She'll feel bad if she catches us around."

Kiba clenched his fists. "Damn you!"

"Damn me for giving Hinata-san some space."

And this silenced the Inuzuka.

Shino pushed the bridge of his shades and continued, "I understand how much you care for her. But there are just some times when you have to let her breathe; you're holding her too tightly, baka." He watched the dog lover avert his gaze to the tiled floor, eyes shaking. Shino then whispered, his eyes now focused on Hinata, "She needs some time... without us."

_How could this bug freak sound so right, dammit!_ The way he hissed curses under his breath was a sign that Shino had finally won. Although this predicament was something the both of them wanted to solve together, it took more than their friendship to realize some things...

Kiba managed to smile a bit, and then he released a sigh. Perhaps his conscience was clear. "Hai, hai."

At the same time, Shino felt like a total idiot for saying all those things. He knew he was right, and he knew that the words he blabbed out unconsciously hurt himself just a bit. Afterall, both teammates cared for this raven-haired blushing goddess so much. Their friendship with her was enough to satisfy their unspoken feelings for her. Even if it meant living a life of pretendings.

Even if it meant guiding her to a man they hardly even appreciate.

Just when silence took over, Kiba and Shino felt a hand land on their shoulders. Both of them turned, only to find Uzumaki Naruto grinning before them.

"What are you guys doing under this oversized umbrella?" His innocent question caused the teammates to blush profusely. The worst thing that could happen aside from being found out by Hinata was to be found out by Naruto himself. And unluckily for them, they were _caught_.

Shino stood up, and was followed by Kiba. The latter laughed nervously as he scratched his head. "A-Ahahahaha..! Naruto..! W-What a frigin' coincidence, ne, Shino?" He nudged the bug-boy with his shoulder.

"Y-Yeah..."

The Kyuubi's grin widened. "I didn't know Hinata-chan asked you to come along. So it's a group date, huh?" He was about to wave to the mentioned girl, but Kiba had already yanked his neck. "WTF was that for!"

He shrugged. "T-There was a bug--"

Shino frowned darkly.

"--I mean, something on your face."

Being the gullible Naruto that he is, he tapped his cheek with a hand vigorously. "Oh. Is it still there?"

Both teammates sweatdropped. "N-No... it's gone."

The Uzumaki's grin resurfaced. "So! A group date! Hinata-chan told me to meet her here, but I didn't know she had her friends along." He cupped his chin to think. "I should have brought Kakashi-sensei. He needed to walk around more often. Since he got the latest installment of Come Come Paradise, he hardly pays attention to anyone."

"Um.. Naruto," Shino's voice broke his speech, summoning both males' gazes. "Kiba and I are not here for a group date. We wanted to escort Hinata-san until you came."

With all the effort within him, Kiba forced a smile. "Hinata and you are..."

In some odd and unusual way, Naruto sensed something about her teammates. He nodded, then was on his way to the waiting young woman. "Don't worry... I'll take her home by ten."

Somehow, he understood.

Of course, the situation Kiba and Shino were in couldn't be more embarrassing.

"Ten it is then," they chorused as they watched Naruto meet up with Hyuuga Hinata twenty meters away. He apologized for being late, but as always, Hinata reassured him it was quite alright. She didn't wait long. She was always patient. And after so many years of containing her emotions for the Kyuubi loudmouth, waiting seemed to be her friend.

Meanwhile, the two decided to head home with only one realization in mind: Waiting is wasting. Because no matter how long they would yearn for Hinata, her heart had already been taken by someone she cared for deeply.

But it was okay. At least the three of them still had their friendship alive. It was all it took to reassure them that they still had a reason to be with her even if reasons didn't need to exist.

owari 


End file.
